1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable hoists adapted for loading and unloading a vehicle and more specifically to hoists releasably attachable to a vehicle's trailer hitch drawbar.
2. Prior Art
It is known to have portable hoists attachable to a vehicle's trailer hitch drawbar. Typically, a hoist attaches to the drawbar with the hoist mast separated from the drawbar, leveraging a load conducted through the mast to the drawbar by the separation from the drawbar. To minimize the affect of the load on the vehicle's suspension during loading, the mast should be adjacent the drawbar. This affect is often overcome by the addition of one or more support legs between the hoist and the ground.
Portable hoists of the prior art typically comprise a plurality of components that are relatively large and heavy. The hoists are assembled in short by mounting the mast vertically in place and connecting a boom to its top. This can be at least inconvenient and unsafe. Though prior hoists may be disconnected from the vehicle hitch drawbar and therefore be portable, they remain difficult to assemble and disassemble.
An object of the present invention is to provide a hoist comprising a plurality of relatively small, lightweight components easily assembled and mounted to a vehicle trailer hitch drawbar. It is a further object that the hoist be able to be assembled and disassembled in a convenient position easily within reach from the ground and then raised to his vertical operational position. It is another object that the mast of the portable hoist be adjacent the vehicle trailer drawbar so a load on the hoist is supported by the vehicle's suspension with minimal leverage affect at the drawbar. It is a further object that the hoist be movable pivotably from one side of the vehicle to the other.